Republicans in the critical state of Georgia recently scored a substantial victory in working to ensure election integrity. Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley recently announced that poll watchers would now be allowed inside vote counting centers in the Peach State after being told this would not be permitted.
Local election officials in Democrat-voting strongholds, such as Fulton County, recently stated that polling locations would stay open over the weekend. Subsequently, Republicans in Georgia accused them of violating Georgia’s election laws and “illegally” accepting ballots. Members of the Georgia GOP recently put out a statement calling out this violation of the state’s laws.
“It has come to our attention that Fulton County election officials are planning to open four election offices this weekend ‘to accommodate voters seeking to hand-return their absentee ballots.’ This is a blatant violation of Georgia law, subsection (d) of Code Section 21-2-385, O.C.G.A. § 21-2-382 which states ‘all drop boxes shall be closed when the advance voting period ends,’” the statement read.
The press release from last week continued, “This must be stopped immediately and those willfully breaking Georgia law should be held accountable. To make matters worse, the four election office locations are situated in areas of the county that will clearly favor Democrat candidates. We are calling on state officials to take immediate action to stop this and maintain confidence in Georgia’s election integrity. Fulton County’s patently illegal acts give us no choice but to immediately file suit.”
Furthermore, Fulton County Registration Manager Kathryn Glenn told county officials over the weekend that poll watchers would not be permitted to supervise the arrival of new mail-in ballots. She stated in an email, “FYI – There are NO WATCHERS approved for ballot drop off! Do not let them in the building.” Her message added, “If they want to observe from the parking lot, you can’t stop that but they are not allowed to sit in the building. Have your security detail enforce it!!”
Following this statement, Republicans at the local and national level swiftly took action to challenge the move. As a result, it was shortly announced that poll watchers would be allowed into the locations. “I have been apprised that after refusing to admit our poll watchers that Fulton County and other counties are now allowing our poll watchers to observe the voting activity occurring today,” Georgia Republican Party Chairman Josh McKoon wrote on social media.
Continuing, he added that the move to extend the early voting deadline would be further addressed legally. “It is unacceptable that the decision was made to open these locations without notice or authorization from any party charged with elections administration. Our legal team is evaluating our next steps with regard to today’s decision allowing this activity in the first place,” McKoon said.
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger addressed the matter on X, writing, “We’re pleased that Fulton County has implemented our requirement allowing monitors in the spirit of Georgia law. But we are concerned that this was ever a question in the first place.” He continued, “The eyes of the world are on Fulton County. Local officials must ensure that every process from now until election day and after is transparent and in accordance with Georgia law, given the history of controversy in the county’s election administration.”
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